Is Santa Ana dangerous for an European exchange student? PLEASE HELP!! I'm freaking out... (San Diego: home, neighborhoods)

[Raelyn28]

Have you read the thread titled "Santa Ana"? I guess all of those people are wrong, liars or hyped up then .. Come on get real....

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Heard it all before. Lots of hype lots of prejudice not a lot of facts. The bottom line is Santa Ana is a city. People who are afraid of Santa Ana are just afraid of cities period. As cities go, Santa Ana is safer than average. Look at the statistics. Yes you will occaisionally have a shooting reported, not at the level that you are claiming, but there are some. There are also around 350,000 people in Santa Ana. However there is absoutelty no reason to try to scare this poor gal with your diatribe. You will not get shot for wearing the wrong color, not is it likley that you will get hit by a strya bullet in some kind of gunfight. First of all. Most people do not go into the areas where that occurs, secondly, it is simply very very rare. If bangers in any city shoot at something, they usually shoot each other.

How many years have you lived in Santa Ana? On what do you base you "knowlege" that anyone who wears the wrong colors will get shot? Your stateent is patently absurd.

I wear whatever I want when I wlak around Santa Ana. The same is true of my waife, daughters, friends, neighbors. No one gets shot at. No one even gets a dirty look.

I know over 100 people who live in Santa Ana very well. I have around 1000 firendly acquantiances in the City. Not one of them has ever been shot at. Not one person I know would do anything but scoff at those comments. Shootings happen in parts of the City, once in a while you might even hear them (hard to tell from fireworks). However to tell someone that they will get shot for wearing the wrong color clothing is beyond absurd. Ther is no way to maintain any sort of credibility making statements like that, especially when it is based on not one lick of personal knowlege.

[LivinginOC]

Originally Posted by Raelyn28

I am not saying nor have I ever indicated that ALL areas, ALL neighborhoods and ALL people are bad in Santa Ana. But you have said along with others that it is a safe city with almost no crime and another person said the the SAPD made up stories. Please do not twist and exaggerate the things I am saying. All I am asking is for a balanced perspective. With all the cities in OC why pick Santa Ana? There are other cities that are better and safer. This is the only point that I am trying to make. I am only responding to people who post ignorant posts and don't have a clue as to what they are talking about. Just because someone lives in Compton and has never winessed a drive by or a crime doesn't mean it is a safe city... Wake up!!!...PLease

I did not say it is "a safe city with almost no crime."

You've said yourself that you left OC in 2001. So, I've spent some time wondering why you are an expert in the county and why you spend so much time giving input on how things are here.

The OP in this thread asked if SA would be safe for her. The fact is that we can't tell her unless we know where in SA the host family lives. It is not a balanced view to say that SA is dangerous as a whole.

She doesn't have a choice to live in another city. She's an exchange student and will live where the host family lives. To freak her out by convincing her she'll never leave SA alive is not helpful. She may be heading to a perfectly safe area of the city.

And, are you responding to me because I'm ignorant? I live here now. I did not move away 8 years ago and still talk like I'm a county expert.

[DevilDoll]

Too true, quite alot of "experts" on places that they lived years before, doesn't help those of us that are trying to get a fix on a place by asking people questions on here about where they actually live!

[Raelyn28]

Do you not remember that I have associations with people in the town of Santa Ana and therefore I talk about the city often? I probably have more knowledge about the area than you have or you think... And another thing...I encouraged the OP in my response to her in the beginning of the thread (Post #5) or again did you not read all the posts? I didn't say I was an expert of the area. I was just sharing information that I have. Isn't this forum open to the public?

Originally Posted by LivinginOC

I did not say it is "a safe city with almost no crime."

You've said yourself that you left OC in 2001. So, I've spent some time wondering why you are an expert in the county and why you spend so much time giving input on how things are here.

The OP in this thread asked if SA would be safe for her. The fact is that we can't tell her unless we know where in SA the host family lives. It is not a balanced view to say that SA is dangerous as a whole.

She doesn't have a choice to live in another city. She's an exchange student and will live where the host family lives. To freak her out by convincing her she'll never leave SA alive is not helpful. She may be heading to a perfectly safe area of the city.

And, are you responding to me because I'm ignorant? I live here now. I did not move away 8 years ago and still talk like I'm a county expert.

[LivinginOC]

Originally Posted by Raelyn28

Do you not remember that I have associations with people in the town of Santa Ana and therefore I talk about the city often? I probably have more knowledge about the area than you have or you think... And another thing...I encouraged the OP in my response to her in the beginning of the thread (Post #5) or again did you not read all the posts? I didn't say I was an expert of the area. I was just sharing information that I have. Isn't this forum open to the public?

I did read the whole thread.

Why would you think you have more knowledge about the area than I do? I also mentioned that I have family and friends who live in Santa Ana. I didn't mention this before but one of our employees also works as a deputy for the OC Sheriff and has been working in men's central jail in Santa Ana for years and years.

So, I'd venture to guess that I have at least as much knowledge about the area as you do if not more. Couple that with the fact that I actually live here and go to Santa Ana fairly regularly (and not just for my annual jury duty ), I don't think you are better equipped to speak on the area than I am.

This forum is definitely open to the public! It's just that several things I've read from you do not give an accurate picture of Orange County. Since I am a current (and long time) resident, I've been trying to offer a more balanced picture than you do.

[killer2021]

Do not live in santa ana it is the most dangerous city in oc

[Raelyn28]

Ha Ha!!! There you go another persons' perspective and experience and I believe he lives in OC and KNOWS what he is talking about. I have read his other posts and he seems to be very intelligent and balanced unlike a lot of other people on this forum.

I lived in the OC area for 22-years and made myself familiar with most of the cities there. OK... so I haven't been there for seven years. Big deal. I am sure it hasn't improved but has went downhill even further as my friends and relatives constantly tell me. Why do you suppose I left along with my husband who shares my thoughts on OC?? Was it because we loved the place? NO...and by the way my husband lived there a lot longer than I did...he was raised there. I often share some of the posts regarding OC and all the nonsense that is going on and he just shakes his head in disbelief...

[DevilDoll]

Raelynn I think maybe you are trying to be helpful but you must realise that since you dislike OC so much that your perspective is not well balanced, just like what you accuse the people who love OC. You seem to revel in other people disliking the place, and that's fine but allow the people who love the place to speak on that.
Yes, this is an open forum, but for you to say it doesn't matter that you haven't lived somewhere in the last seven years and yet you still know all about it is a bit off kilter. People who come on here looking for answers may need a full perspective of an area but current living situations are the best opportunity to learn from. Places, neighborhoods, & people change alot in seven years. I'm not being rude to you I just think maybe you should step back a bit and understand what some of the people on here are trying to say to you, they're not attacking you.

[LivinginOC]

Originally Posted by Raelyn28

Ha Ha!!! There you go another persons' perspective and experience and I believe he lives in OC and KNOWS what he is talking about. I have read his other posts and he seems to be very intelligent and balanced unlike a lot of other people on this forum.

So, are you saying that anyone who does not share your disgust about OC is unintelligent and unbalanced?

I think this is also the same person who said "Most of Anaheim is trash." Not a balanced view at all!

[mamma6]

why do you spend so much time wondering if this gal is european or not, move on, why would she waste all her time writing questions just to be lying, and does it matter, really?